Time For Crime
by RedRubyStorm
Summary: "Where I live, nothing's safe, nothing goes right, and crime is everywhere you turn. Yet... life somehow goes on, for most fortunate people, anyway." T for safety. This story has been revived from the dead! Chapter ten is UP!
1. Chapter 1

**Yet another random idea that popped into my head... I'm not sure if it's getting better or worse nowadays with me in Annie and all...**

* * *

Where I live nothing's safe, nothing goes right, and crime is everywhere you turn. Yet... life goes on - maybe not the way you always want it to, but it DOES go on, for most fortunate people anyway. My birthday is coming up (on Friday), as is my party, a sleep-over. Of course, Peyton, Tara, and I planned to have some fun with it. I mean, with the danger and everything, we could take advantage of it SOMETIMES, right?

The next day, (Thursday, and we were getting more and more excited by the hour) Peyton, Tara, and I were all busy doing what could mostly be considered as decorating, but we were also planning. See, we are known as notorious jokers, and a group. We almost never fight with each other, and we TRY to be nice to everyone, with our words anyway. Actions... not so much. We love to prank people, and this is a great opportunity. My mom let us go shopping as a birthday treat, and we were in the prank shop the whole time. And we don't go for that sissy stuff like whoopie cushions either, we go big, or go home.

"Uh... a little help ovah here," Peyton said. See, Peyton's short, and she takes pride in that, because it's so much easier for her to hide than the rest of us. And no, she doesn't really have an accent, she just likes to screw up her speech to mess with people's heads. And at the time being her head was messed up too, there were streamers that she'd been trying to hang up all over it.

"Girl, you are a mess," Tara said and came over. She reached over and grabbed the staple gun from Peyton's hand. Then she took the streamers off her head before hanging them back up.

I hadn't really been paying attention to any of this (Peyton was a well known total klutz), and said, "I know we didn't get a tape, but should we act like bears?"

"Nah, too kiddie," Tara said. Peyton, on the other hand, had on her pirate face.

Tara and I recognized it at the same time, and said together, "Oh no." Even though this was never bad for us, it certainly was for some other people. The pirate face was turning into a huge grin.

"See, here's what we do..." Tara and I leaned in, eager to hear what she had to say...

* * *

Friday. Party day, I really hadn't listened to a word in school, not that we were doing anything anyway. To quote my teachers while they're talking to my parents, "Kailie could be in the gifted class, she just doesn't apply herself correctly." Meaning: I could be in the gifted class with nerds, but I choose to wreak havoc with my ' friends instead. My friends never hear anything of the such from their parents (or teachers, I eavessdropped to know that little tidbit). See, Tara's smart in her own way. She chooses what she wants to do, and she wants to write. Trust me, I've seen her notebook, it gave me a headache. The funny thing is, they have to make up special writing classes to even attempt to keep up with Tara. And that's the only reason she doesn't fail in things like math: her extra writing is extra credit. Peyton, well... Peyton doesn't really care. She thinks the only reason they keep passing her is because they don't want to deal with her antics another year. But I've seen her grades, and they are far above decent - in some subjects. Occasionally they have to give her a tutor (depending on what time of the year it is, because Peyton would rather be doing other things than school work), but it's usually for writing. And then the only one who really wants to help Peyton (the prankster) with writing is the other prankster, Tara. It works out, as does life. I'm not saying our life is carefree either. There's metal detectors at all entrances (Peyton says: to make our lives harder), and cameras everywhere (Again, she says the same). Yet our school has actually been invaded a couple of times, a couple kids have been taken. But they never even see Tara, Peyton or me. The school's power fails whenever there's even a warning of intrusion (To make everyone harder to find), and we each have our special hiding places. All Peyton has to do is dive into the big box of kickballs kept in the classroom, and her dark brown hair blends in easily. Tara, who is a skilled climber, scales the shelves until she gets to the various boxes at the top to hide on top of. I, well, I hide on these big, revolving bookshelves. No one ever even sees me. These spots are also useful for mayhem, even though the teacher almost always knows it was one, or all, of us.

"Hellooooooooooo," Peyton always has the same greeting when she comes to my house, and it never fails. My dog, Rookie, never fails to bark the same tone back to her. Peyton just walked in, not bothering to knock or anything. "So, boy, I see you didn't eat any of my wonderful decorations," She said while bending down to scrath Rookie behind the ears. "Where's the ol' slowpoke?" I knew right away she was talking about Tara, who often dawdled while walking somewhere, always getting more and more ideas for a story or four.

Suddenly Tara burst through the back door - the kitchen door, where we happened to be - and panted, "Some news... attack... said explosions... do?"

"Some news reached you about a terrorist attack with said explosions, and what do we do?" Peyton translated, and that's why we're best friends.

Tara nodded.

"Well, we don't do anything because rumors fly about like gnats 'round these parts, and plus, I haven't heard any explosions, have you?" Peyton asked Tara with a glint in her eye. It was true, there were a ton of gnats around here, and I happened to be allergic to them. Yeah, I practically live in bugs' spray.

After a pause, I said, "So... barf gag on who?"

"Hm... we've already pulled it on Cele, Ellie, Kylee..."

"Don't forget Tracie. I think that's it. Plus, Tracie never cares, she doesn't get scared - she just laughs. Is she even invited?"

"All of 'em are." I said.

"Kay... why not Dixie?" Dixie is what we actually call Dakota. Dakota hates her name, so...

"Oh, perfect. Dixie has a serious problem with stuff like that." Peyton and I said together.

"Okay, we have _got _to stop doing that," I told her.

"Agreed."

"Hm... what about the fly-marshmallow-gum thing?" Tara asked.

"The fly-marshmallow-gum... oooooooh."

"Peyton! How could you forget that one? That was perfect!" The Fly-Marshmallow-Gum thing is a little complicated, but we plan on using it tonight.

"Do you have all the supplies needed for that one?" Tara asked me.

"Yup. Saved 'em from last time," I replied.

"Eew! Remind me never to eat a marshmallow again at your house!" Peyton explained with her nose crinkled in disgust.

"Ha... we have ones that aren't like, three years old, Peyton. I just prefer to use old ones for The Fly-Marshmallow-Gum thing."

"Guys, shut up! They're coming!"

Wow Five o'clock was upon us. Peyton and I rushed to put the prank supplies in a backpack (Peyton cringing when she saw the marshmallows) before anyone else could see them.

Tara ushered people into the kitchen when she was sure the coast was clear.

"Peyton, slip outside, put the supplies in the tent." I hissed in her ear. She could, being so small, easily navigate through a crowd without being missed. Tara glanced over while everyone else was talking and saw Peyton, and the backpack, weren't there anymore. She nodded her approval.

All of a sudden we heard a loud scream... well, more of a screech.

Tara and I looked at eachother for a moment before saying "Peyton," and rushing out the door. Peyton isn't easily scared, so this is either a prank, or something serious, was running through my head. I could easily tell where Peyton had walked, and followed the trail as fast as I could without falling. _Why _did we have to put the tent so far from the house? Why?

Tara glanced at me, and we both sped up.

"Peyton! Where are you, Peyton?" I called out, then stopped in my tracks. "What if this is a prank?" I asked Tara.

"I highly doubt that, she would've told us."

"Yeah," I agreed, and kept running on the path to the tent. I saw a form laying on the ground... covered in blood that mixed in with her dark brown hair...

"Tara, we put a cell in the tent 'for emergencies'. Call an ambulance. Now." She nodded and dashed to the flap, then dove through. I closed my eyes, then got down on my knees next to Peyton. "Pey, can you hear me?"

Something of a gurgle rose up out of her throat. I glanced at Tara, who had come back.

"On their way," is all she said, and I nodded.

When the ambulance finally did get there, I knew time was NOT on Peyton's side.

* * *

**[A/N] How's that for a light, summer writing? Haha. This is sorta sloppy work, because I'm tired, and SCHOOL ENDS TOMORROW! Yipee! **

**Just giving you a heads-up, this actually is my friend's idea, I just sorta took it as my own, after getting permission, of course. But after this chapter, the plot'll be WAY different from hers. So... good night!**


	2. Chapter 2

**FantabulousMe: Ahaha, I forgot to say the Jellicles will come in later. Oops. Anyway, glad to hear you enjoy!**

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The next day, Tara and I walked around together like zombies. Since Peyton had been attacked by something, we figured everyone had to go home. Besides, Peyton really was the life of the party. Talk about a crummy birthday - having my best friend murdured - as far as we knew anyway. All of our parents went to the hospital themselves, but refused to let us go along with them. I questioned their safety tactics though; a girl gets attacked outside of our house, then they leave two more girls there alone? Yeah, that's _real _smart. But then again, they left my brother, Roger, to 'guard' us. I can hear him blasting his music from down the street. If I screamed at the top of my lungs, along with Tara, I sincerely doubt he would hear us. They had also told us to 'stay here, no matter what'. Well... what if the house was about to blow up? Then we'd be dead, so Peyton would be lonely on the (large - I hope) chance she lives.

* * *

A while of staring later, three pairs of people walked in, our parents, plus Peyton's. Peyton's mother looked like she'd just stopped crying, and wasn't meeting either of our gazes. Her father looked pale with shadows under his eyes.

"Uh-oh, I'm not liking the intervention going on here." Tara said, eyeing up the scene.

All I could do was nod. To put two and two together (in a metaphorical way, I'm not sure exactly how much I put together at the time), the news was not good.

My mom came over and wrapped her arm around my shoulders, Tara's father -whom she was closer to, her parents were divorced- did the same. "I'm sorry, honey," my mom said, looking down at me with tears in her eyes. At the time, I didn't think to say how much I hated it when people said 'I'm sorry' when someone close leaves.

"No!" Tara and I shouted together. We'd both read the signs, and Peyton's mother bursting into tears confirmed our fears.

"She'd lost too much blood." Someone stated, I don't quite remember who...

"My only baby! She was just a baby!" Peyton's mom kept crying things like that to join her tears. In our hearts, we all knew Peyton would hate to be called things like this, but no one had the heart to voice it.

* * *

Around a week later, when they were still making preperations (at Peyton's house, Tara and I were there because our parents were so freaked now, they dragged us everywhere with them), the hospital called. Tara reached the phone first, and called out in disbelief, "Why is Mercy Hospital calling us?"

Peyton's mom snatched the phone away from her: she'd become extremely irritable over the past week. "Hello?" After a moment's pause, "What?" she shouted, causing everyone to jump. Peyton's Dad had come up behind her, just in case.

With her hand shaking, and sobs, her mom set the phone back on the receiver.

"She's gone." Peyton's mom sounded just numb, in shock.

I wanted to say 'yeah, we've already established that', but I didn't. That would probably only cause her more tears. So, my dad, who's a shrink and deals with many fragile people, said, "What?" In his calmest voice. He'd tried his little ruitine on me too, to stop my 'mayhem', but no shrink will be able to stop that. I'm an antagonist for life.

"H-her b-b-b-body's gone," she choked out between sobs.

"Please tell me this is some sick joke," Tara said, head between her knees. I'd never seen Tara cry before, and I still haven't. With that we exited the room, leave the adults to sue or whatever.

Once we were seated, in our favorite spot at Peyton's house -Peyton's room- we both began to talk at once. But then I shut up and Tara started over. "What the hell," Tara never curses if avoidable, so this surprised me, "Do you think happened?"

"I don't know. Remember what Pey said a long time ago? 'If I'm gone, and you're not, check my computer. Check my secret file -Kailie, you know where it is- and listen to the song. It's my life.'"

"Should we?"

I nodded, "But... what'll we find? That scares me."

"I know. But... she told us to, that means we should." We inched our way over to her desk top, as though it might lash out and bite us or something. "Do you remember her password?" Tara asked once I'd gotten the computer running.

"Yup, y'know Peyton, it's 'Mango1414'. Why, I have no idea."

"Yeah... that's Pey alright." She said as I logged in. I clicked a few times, and then I was brought to her file. When I clicked it, it asked for a password. I tried typing 'Mango1414', but nothing happened. Well, it yelled at me, and gave me a password hint. I glanced at Tara, and said, "Do you think it's what I think it is?"

"I didn't even know Peyton read books, let alone have a favorite one."

"Same here," I agreed, "But I don't think it'd be wise to go out and ask her parents right now... wait! Remember Kramer's class?"

"Yeah..."

"What was her favorite book we read that year?" I was testing Tara now.

"Oh! We called it 'Remember the Banana', I don't remember the real name though."

"I don't think Peyton did either, but shall we try it?" I'm the only kid in our grade who uses the word 'shall' regularly, if at all, and proud.

At Tara's nod, I typed it in, and we were in. There was a video, which I clicked into full screen mode, and turned the volume down a bit, for good measure.

There was a note at the beginning, in Peyton's favorite text, and it said, 'If you're watching this, it means your either a dousche who hacked my secret file, or I'm gone and I told you to watch this. I won't say more, but Tara, you might know where this is from, given you're parents weren't so strict. I know you're into music and stuff, so... and Kailie, you two were my best friends.' The note then disappeared, and I was thinking; Leave it to Peyton to make you laugh a week after she dies.

Then the beginning of what I assumed to be a movie faded onto the screen. It was a man looking like he was trying not to cry, and another sympathetic looking one beside him. Then the screen was filled, and it began. The sympathetic looking one sang, _"There is no future. There is no past." _Now a whole bunch of people were on-screen. I noticed, sub-conciously, the resemblence between Peyton and one of the girls.

Then a biker-looking-dude sang, to the one who resembled Peyton,_ "Thank God this moment's not the last."_

Then he and the Peyton-ish girl sang together, _"There's only us. There's only this. Forget regret. Or life is yours to miss."_

Then everyone in the room -The Peyton-ish girl, blond biker-looking-dude, the guy who looked like he was trying not to cry, the sympathetic guy, a shorter girl who was in what looked like a biking jacket, and a woman beside her- began to sing, _"No other road. No other way. No day, but today." _The sympathetic scarf guy walked over and turned on a projector while the others were singing, (the girls were singing) _"I can't control, my destiny. I trust my soul, my only goal, is just to be. Without you, the hand gropes, the ear hears, the pulse beats. Life goes on, but I'm gone, 'cause I die, without you, I die, without you." _

Meanwhile, all the boys in the room were singing, _"Will I lose my dignity? Will someone care? Will I wake tomorrow? From this nightmare? There's only now, there's only here, give in to love, or live in fear. No other path, no other way, no day but today. No day but today." _Then they went on to repeat 'No day but today' and 'without you, I die, without you'. Then, at the very end, they sang together, "No day but today." Then the movie ended. Everything went black.

Well, not knowing really what this was from, I couldn't exactly make out the scene in the movie, but in reality... that was Peyton's life point. There really _was _no day but today. She used to always say, 'Why live in the past, or think to the future, while you can dance in the present? It's a gift, that's why it's called _present.'_

I glanced over at Tara, and for the first time in my life, I saw her biting her lip; trying not to cry.

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**[A/N] Kay, I SWEAR the Jellicles will be in the next chapter. The song is, in fact, 'No day But Today' or 'Finale B' from RENT. Sorry, this was originally over like 2000 words, but fanfic deleted my chapter (overnight. How weird is that?) and I don't really have the heart to make it as long as it was before. Sorry I didn't really describe the 'movie' very well, think of it from Kailie's view, she had no idea what was going on. Either way, I advise looking the real thing up, as I wasn't very descriptive. **


	3. Waking Up

**How in God's name did I manage to forget a whole FREAKING STORY? Seriously, the only reason I remembered is because I watched No Day But Today again, and it jogged my memory! Sincere Apoligies!**

* * *

_Peyton's P.O.V._

I groggily opened my eyes, and expected to be in like a hospital or something. But no, I was on the freaking ground, and, by the looks of it, nowhere near Kailie's. Wait... what the heck? I wasn't like, sore, at all. I glanced down at my arms and saw no scratches or anything underneath the fur... wait, fur? Why in God's name did I have _fur? _Did they, like, alter my DNA or something? For some reason I doubt it. What sick dream was I dreaming? Well, I shook my self out and stood... uh, on all fours. A quick glance behind me showed a tail, oh God, a _tail. _Yet another useless aspect of a cat - or rather, in a dream where you're a cat. I absolutely refuse to believe this is, in some sick, twisted way, real. Although, I have to say, the increased senses made everything pretty damn vivid, at least, for a dream anyway. Usually, I can lucid dream - basically wake up in a dream, without physically waking up. Like usually, I can make things pretty wild, like one time, there was a sarcastic unicorn, cats in a bar (for some unknown reason that thought always cracks me up), then me. Which, as you might now, I can make _reality _pretty insane. But here, nothing happened, no matter how hard I tried. Shit. What did _that _mean. Well, time to explore. Getting adjusted to having to walk on all fours with a tail took me a while, but I found you could run like a bullet like this. _Jeez, _I thought while streaking through the trees, _humans have nooooo idea what they're missin' here. _Okay... next order of business... food, and shelter. Looking up through the trees at the sky, and based on how tense I was, it was going to rain soon. And obviously, I couldn't just stroll home, either. Besides, I have no freaking idea where I am. And I couldn't very well just blend into the bushes and wait for some edible source (ew, I'd have to eat some animal raw) to come by, judging by the way my fur is colored. I was orange and white with brown stripes. Yeah, maybe if I rolled in dirt that would work, but seeming as I just can't go jump in a shower in this state, that wasn't the best option. Well, my one beacon of hope: Stealing something.

Well, I wasn't proud of it, but that really was my only option. I mean, I just became a cat, how on earth was I supposed to know how to hunt? Given this wasn't all a dream I couldn't control under the influence of drugs they use at hospitals. There always was that theory for me to fall back on if this insane-wonder-cat world got any insaner... yes, I like that word-that's-not-really-a-word! Yes, public education had gotten through my skull, I just chose to ignore it, because I'm just special that way. Now I was cheekily grinning while approaching a town. Mmm... was that... chicken I smelled? (Yay! For creepy good sense od smell and direction!) Yum. And some idiot left it out on the windowsill! Yes! See, I'm small, and a prankster. And let's add flexible to the equation. Now you have a cat who can steal a meal from some human idiot without being caught. Sounds like me, alright. Weird thing is though, I don't recognize any of my surroundings, from home, or like softball games, or... anything. Where the heck _was _I? Well, I'll figure that out later. Right now, to get some grub.

I landed silently on the sill, and stole a drumstick, then jumped down. _Man, _I thought, _I love this. Sure, I was small before (given this isn't a dream, see above comment of drug influenced dreams), but no one was as small as this. Not to mention quiet. Idiots didn't even notice me! _Ah, psychotic brain, you make the best delusions. Dashing to a clump of trees, I noisily (hey, I'm still getting used to eating without hands) tore into my meal. It was perfect. Just then, someone crept into the shadows around me, and I hissed, protecting my feast. Thank God cats can see in the dark, the other being there with me was a scarlet... queen? Don't ask how I know that term, because I'm not entirely sure. I relaxed a bit, after she didn't move, and tore off another strip of Chicken Little. Slowly I chewed, making sure she wasn't going to make a move and attack me.

Suddenly, she spoke, "Y'know... you look a lot like... nah, couldn't be. Hey, you gotta place to stay?" While she said this, I'd put on my best 'bored' face, but really I was intrigued.

"Wha's i' to ya?" I was startled to hear that, aloud, I had an accent. Whatever.

She looked just as surprised as me at this new developement, but continued as though she hadn't noticed, "My family and I. We have room."

"Uh..." I responded, because frankly, I was backed into a corner here. I don't exactly trust strangers (As God knows they pound into your head in kindergarden), but I had no other place to go. And that rain looked like it might pour down any second now. And, well, she seemed nice enough, at least she hadn't taken my chicken.

"Come," she waved her paw at me to follow, then trotted off. _Well, _I thought, _it could be worse, she could be a tom... okay, enough with the kitty terms, brain. _

It started to drizzle halfway to another town, so we stopped and ducked inside a telephone booth. Why there was one out here, I have now idea, but I wasn't about to question it.

About twenty minutes of silence (Well, she talked, I was zoned out) later, the rain thankfully stopped, and we dashed through a couple alleys in another town to a junkyard. The queen (I still didn't know her name, and if she said it, I hadn't been listening) turned through here, and ever so slowly I began to recognize my surroundings, even though I was, like, a ton smaller and everything was ginormous. This was the junkyard about maybe ten blocks away from my old house. "Home sweet home," ol' scarlet said, and I was surprised to hear that.

"This is where you live?" Oh dear God, if you would've said this is where I'd be now a week ago, I would've laughed and questioned your mental health, yet... here I am.

"Yeah. I mean, it may not look like much, but it has everything a cat could want: humans rarely disturb it, tons of mice and rats to eat, shelter... what else could you ask for?"

_Higene. _"Guess you're right."

"Well, c'mon! I want you to meet everyone, by the way, what's your name?"

"Uh... Peyton," I said truthfully. So much for coming up with a fake name.

Her eyes widened, but she didn't say anything, just led me to a seemingly empty crate...

* * *

**[A/N] Sorry, I had to cut that off there. It's late, and I will soon pass out from sleep deprivation if I don't get some quick. Annie rehearsals in turbo mode (our show's in, -technically 3, because it's like 3 in the morning- days!) are pretty tiring. And a lack of sleep. So, hope you enjoyed anyway! **


	4. Chapter 4

**FantabulousMe: You completely made my day.**

* * *

_(Still) Peyton's P.O.V._

Well, as it turns out, that box was far from empty. Inside there was Demeter, Bombalurina's (I'd learned her name now) sister, with three of her friends, Etcetra, Cettie for short; Electra; and Jemima. All of them -I assumed they were kittens, not near being a queen yet- were smaller than I was, espicially Jemima.

Etcetra was hyper along with Electra, Demeter was sort of quiet, but always spoke her mind, and Jemima was just quiet and small. Basically the opposite of Kailie whenever I woke up from this half nightmare, half dream. _Kailie._ That was a thought. What if I went and tried to find her in whatever I'm supposed to consider this. Hm...

After I 'listened' to those five chatting for a while, Bomba stood up and said to them, "Well I best be taking her to Old D at Vicarage." Uh... okay, sooo many questions for my subconcious right now.

"Wait!" Etcetra -surprise!- cried out, "You never told us her name!" My keen ears - I mean, _subconscious, _(I still refuse to believe this is more than a drug-induced dream)picked this up from where I'd been ushered, outside. Bomba must of heard too, but she ignored them.

"So... you're confused, am I right?" Bomba asked me, I noticed whenever we walked past another person, they would notice me for like a brief second, then stare at Bomba (in the toms' cases anyway), who was swinging her hips around and around. I wanted to ask her if she had a disability because of this, but I didn't, because I needed these people -if it all wasn't all a freaking vivid dream- and offending them right away would not be the smart thing to do.

"Pre'y much," I said in my accent, then saw a white... queen, I think, roll her eyes in the direction of Bomba and me. I was wondering _what did I do now? I just got here._

"Okay, Old D -Old Deuteronomy- is our leader, and the Vicarage Wall is like his sacred place. I'm taking you there because that's where all new-comers go." She finished the last part in a rush because she saw I was about to interrupt.

I nodded. Actually, it kinda cracked me up, because here, I, Peyton was, as a cat, in a junkyard, nervous, and about to see the leader cat of all cats, and all in my subconcious - I hoped. And I just epic failed at correct grammar, but that isn't very important right now, is it?

A very old, some-what fat (in my opinion), brown cat was sitting on the wall. He was looking right at me as we walked over, and it was kind of creepy, actually.

He said to Bomba, "You may leave," and she nodded then scampered away. Then he turned to me, "Peyton." he said with a flourish, as if I were the most precious thing in the world, maybe I was, to make up freaking weird dreams like this while on drugs from hospitals. That's right, I'm still hanging onto my dream theory. How else would the leader of the cat world know my name?

"Peyton, it's not a dream. You died, but the other mystics and I agreed you deserved a second chance."

I knew I was supposed to spew some mushy form of 'thank-you', but I didn't. That sentence did not comprehend. So instead I stared at him blankly. How's that for a fluent English (er... English-cat) speaker?

He sighed, "Peyton, would you like to forget past memories of being a human? It would make things simpler for you, to stop missing _them." _

So he knew the main reason I wanted to become human again, joy. "No." I sounded like freaking _Tarzan. _"At leas' - no' righ' now, lemme sleep on i'." I was lovin' this accent thing I had goin' on.

His turn to nod, and then he said in his deep voice, "I understand. But, in any case, you need a new name."

_Greeeeeeeeeeeeeeeat. _But again, all I did was nod.

"Hm... how about..."

* * *

**[A/N] And there, folks, you have it. My very feeble attempt at a cliffhanger, for those of you who can't tell what I'm intending yet. Sorry if I messed up the accent, I forgot about it 'till the very end, then I THINK I got everything. Not so sure though...**


	5. A newer life

**FantabulousMe: No one's told that to me before, so thanks for that tip. I'm GLAD to know I was spelling her name wrong, thank-you. And otherwise, well... thanks. **

* * *

"Rumpleteazer." He finished, looking at me expectantly.

I was THINKING, "What the hell kind of name is that?" But instead, almost unwillingly, I nodded.

Rumpleteazer it is, then. Actually, it sounds like a name that suits my personality. Charming. He then explained, "A Jellicle cat, our tribe, has three different names. One your family will call you, such as Peter, Augustus, Alonzo or James. Such as Victor or Jonathan, George or Bill Bailey. All of them sensible, everyday names. Then you have our names, yours, for instance, is Rumpleteazer. Mine is Deuteronomy. Such as Munkustrap, Quaxo, or Coricopat. Such as Bombalurina or Jellylorum. Names that never belong to more than one cat. That leaves you with one name left over. And that is the name you never will guess. The name that no human research can discover,  
but the cat himself knows and will never confess." O-kay. I may have cut that down a bit, I admit it. Come on, it sounded like he was reciting from a freaking book.

"I undehstan'," I told him, because, maybe because of my crazed sub-concious (despite what he tells me, I'm not about to let that theory go), I _did _understand. I wonder what Kailie would do if I just randomly walked into her house like this. That would be fairly hilarious. If only I could contact her somehow.

He smiled down at me and said, "I'm a mystic cat. I can tell you're not about to let your old life go. You may keep those memories."

"Please, I'd rathah I di' keep 'em."

"I understand," he said, nodding slightly. My thoughts were trailing away ever so slowly... wondering if I could still write as a cat... "Now go, find the others, meet everyone." When I registered he'd dismissed me, I dashed off. I wonder how long I sat there spaced out before I left after he said I could go... oh well. I'd rather have him find out about my oh, so charming personality now rather than later.

I saw Bombalurina first, and I ran over to her. "Well?" She looked at me expectantly.

"I can stay," I said grinning, then continued, "Call m' Rumpleteazah."

"Well, miss Teazer," she said with a smile playing across her lips, "I think there's someone you should meet. Follow me." Oh God. I did not like that glint in her eye, in fact it's often seen in _my _eyes. That mischevious flair. Uh-oh.

* * *

Turns out that "someone" was a tom... who looked almost exactly like I did in this form... what the hell?

"Bomba... wha' di' you do?" He said, with the same accent as I had, in wonder.

"Ye' anothah trick of m' sub-concious," I muttered under my breath.

Then he turned to me, "Well, wha's yer name?"

"Rumpleteazah." He looked... awe-struck to hear that I had the same accent as him. Jeez, could the great cat gods cut me a break? Now I sure wouldn't hear the end of this from Etcetera and them... I wonder why they didn't tell me. "Yer name?"

"Mungojerreh." Jeez, talk about strange names. What a pair we are. Speaking of Etcetera, Jemima, Demeter, and Electra... here they come. Etcy was bouncing up and down on her heels in anticipation.

"I see you've met! Good! You'll be really handy to confuse people with... and Jerrie's order of business -" Mungojerrie'd clapped a paw (Oh God. I was _never _going to get used to this. Yet another different aspect of being a cat) over her mouth.

Then he practically hissed, "Tha', will b' taken care o' later." He told her. Bomba had walked away, muttering something about "leaving kittens be kittens."

Etcetera wiggled her eyebrows at the others, and said, "Let's let these two be alone." Dear God. She is sooooooooo gonna get it later.

While I was shooting daggers at her retreating back, Jerrie was rolling his eyes. "Well, tha' wasn' confusin' t' me 't all." I said sarcastically.

He snorted, then said, "M' business," I couldn't help but imagine him with a briefcase and like, one of those long trench-coat things momentarily, "'s t' steal." He finished.

Now _that_, had it's pros and cons in my eyes. Cons: I didn't really want to become more of a criminal than I already was (It was one _tiny, accidental, _explosion, and they really chewed me out for it). Pros: Well, it'll keep me in my mind, really, and well... I didn't have much as a cat. Or much to do. Thieving would be something entertaining to do.

"Are y' in?" He asked me, that oh, so familiar glint in his eye. I'd seen it in Kailie and Tara's eyes a million times... damn it! There I go again. Then I had an excellent idea, why not break into one of their houses? I grinned mischeviously,

"Yeah, 'f course!"

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**[A/N] Forgive me. I failed at Cockney accents. And from here... the plot takes off...**


	6. The plan

**I love this story so much. I just do. Don't question me! It's fun to write for. Peyton's character's personality is based off of one of my friends, if you care. That particular friend questioned me on it: so here's you answer. If you read this.**

* * *

It turns out, cats have their own, little mini pencils. That a cat who wants to contact her human friends can write with. Problem is, I'd have to steal a piece of stationary or something to use it plus, I wouldn't be able to write letters that Kailie or anyone else could read. Yes, that plan had already been dismissed. My new plan was to break into Kailie's, get on her computer, and type a message from there, then send it to her email. Genius, right? And I'm that good of a friend to know that Roger will be at his band rehearsal, both her parents at work, and Kailie at soccer, all at the same time, for about half an hour no one would be home. Tomorrow at 4:30. Jerrie'd already agreed to it, even if he didn't know my reason for that particular house. It's like us two were meant to be soul mates or something, I mean, come one, you freaking cat gods: We look alike, both of us have a Cockney accent, we're mishevious, flexible, and small. Yeah, this _totally _was an accident.

As was this whole drug-induced cat dream. Suddenly, a queen's voice filled my head, _Stop it. This is reality. You really are a cat now, Rumpleteazer. We've been keeping tabs on you since you arrived, and it's time to let that theory go. _What the hell?

_Who are you? _I asked my brain. And if you don't think _that's _a weird sentence, try reading it again.

_Tantomile. Stay there. We'll introduce you to everyone else. _

_Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat? Who's we? _No response. But suddenly there were two shadows infront of me, along with my own, so I whipped around and got into a sort-of defensive position. I still didn't know everyone, thus I couldn't tell who a Jellicle may or may not be. They were twins, with dusty gray coats with some white. "I'm Tantomile," the female said, and the male, "Coricopat."

"What did you mean, keeping tabs on me?" I asked mainly Tantomile, but they responded in unison

"We're mystics, but not the only ones here."

"You've already met-"

"-Old Deuteronomy-"

"-Who is one-"

"-But there are many." They'd been finishing each other's sentences. O-kaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay.

"We'll take you to see Mistoffelees first," They said in -you guessed it!- unison.

So I said to them, "If you don't stop that, you'll find out what a notorious prankster can accomplish as a cat."

Tantomile snorted, Corico rolled his eyes.

* * *

Eventually, I'd met everyone. There is a crapload of cats in this junkyard. Yet as a human I'd never even noticed them. Well, correction, I'd seen Munkustrap _once _when I was a human. Otherwise, no, I hadn't known anyone. So... our plan is tomorrow, let's just hope nothing goes wrong, as it tends to around me...

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**[A/N] I promised myself I wouldn't do this. Yet here it is. The second chapter I'll have posted today. One for this story one for another. Oh well. Sorry it's short as for lack of ideas.**


	7. Chapter 7

lalala, I'm sort of hyper and at a lack of sleep right now. And exhausted physically. Six hour soccer camp. Don't ask. But I think I'm ready for a championship match now. xD

* * *

It was time to break-and-enter into my best friend's house... while I was a cat. I mean, if I was human and one of Kailie's family walked in and found me there, it wouldn't be that big of a deal. But as a cat? It was a little more exciting. Because God knows my life needs more of that.

* * *

_Kailie's P.O.V._

Soccer practice? Cancelled. Had my parents bothered to figure this out before the dropped me off? _Of course not, _I thought bitterly. So now I had about another half mile to walk from home. Great, right? Because that's just _everyone's _freaking favorite thing to do on a crisp October morning on a Saturday, right? That was sarcasm, incase you couldnt tell. I sighed. Just another random twist in this hell-hole I live in. I mean, okay, the fact that Peyton had died was one thing. But then the memorial service? Ugh. Adults were _very_ annoying. Can you imagine how many times someone said "I'm sorry" to Tara and me? And of course, hearing "I'm sorry" does nothing but piss me off. Although... the words and stories people told... I had wet tracks down my face, while Tara was biting her lip. I swear, it's like that girl has no tear ducts or something, I mean, even Peyton had cried. Once in a while. Tara never does. Even at her best friend's memorial. I couldn't call it a funeral anymore, because Peyton's body wasn't there. And because the world felt no different to me, I didn't think she was really dead. I still don't. I mean, surely the world would feel different if Peyton really was gone, right? I couldn't remember a time we hadn't been together, I mean, we literally were friends for life, the three of us. Why was I having all these intimate thoughts now, while I was teed walking home from a cancelled soccer practice? I have no idea.

Finally. I ran the last block to my house, trying to get warm. Had I thought to bring a sweat shirt? What do you think? If you thought no, congratulations! You're correct! Whoop-di-doo. I unlocked the door and stepped inside. Ah. That's better, warmer. I set my stuff down and walked into the living room... _why was there a cat at our computer? _"Hey! Get outta here! Shoo!" What the heck? The cat looked at me square on and meowed. "Why are you here? Get out!" The cat swished it's tail and looked at me a second longer, then it darted out of an open window, wear another cat that looked almost exactly the same was waiting... what in God's name is going on? I swear they just cart-wheeled away. I shook my head and went upstairs, then proceeded to collapse on my bed. Not enough sleep is it... yeah, that's it, not getting enough sleep...

* * *

_Peyton... er, Rumpleteazer's P.O.V._

Let me tell you one thing: There is nothing more auxhilirating than running away from your best friend's house as a cat. And trying not to curl up in a ball from laughter. I mean, the look on her face! If I could, trust me, I'd be laughing right now. Instead, I was streaking towards the Junkyard, racing Jerrie, whom I was ahead of, but not by much. I say again, you humans should try this. Running as a cat, I mean. You can run so dang _fast. _There really is no better feeling. Except for maybe, flying. Streaking through the air like a bullet. But as far as I'm concerned, no nut-jobs are out there grafting wings onto innocent children, are they? If they are it's certainly a well hidden process. Hence why I think it's not really happening - what am I talking about? Sorry for being a little unrelated there. Once I made it back to the big central clearing, I braced myself... and got tackled by Jerrie. We kept pouncing on each other, trying to get the other on the ground, and let go to our inner kittens. I mean, it didn't even strike me then that I was feeling more and more like a cat, and the human memories were already fading from my brain...

* * *

**[A/N] Ah! August 30th! School! NOOOO! But anyway, hope you enjoyed... I won't say what I have in mind ;-)**


	8. Chapter 8

A couple days later, after hoping with all my might that Kailie would get the message I'd barely finished, Jerrie asked me a question, "So, Teazah, where'd ya come from?"

Believe it or not, but this question caught me totally off-guard, and I truthfully couldn't remember. As I messed up my face in concentration, I said, "Where... where did I come from?" Then I turned to him, with my head cocked and said, "I don't remember. It's like... all hazy. I don't remember a time before Bomba found me..."

He was staring at me weird. Guess I'm stranger than he thought. Then something went off in my brain. That's right! We went to that human... Kailie's house for a reason. So I could tell her I was alive. Just not as... she'd known me. That's right! "Oh! I was from around the place we broke into a couple days ago."

"Okay..." yep. Definitely a cat freak right here. Although now I was terrified I'd lose my earlier memories altogether. What did it _mean?_

* * *

_Kailie's P.O.V._

Well, a relatively normal day, unlike a couple days ago. I'd been bored at school, Tara had lectured me a bit on writing and literature, then I'd come home and checked my email. _Then _I was terrified yet mad, with a hint of happiness. Why? I'd gotten a message that read:

_KK._

_No idea if this'll actually work, but we'll forget about that for now.  
It's Peyton, I'm okay. I swear it's me.  
But I can't come home. At least, not yet. It's not the time.  
What happened? Well, even I'm not sure of that. And I sure as hell can't begin to explain it to you.  
Trust me on this. I'll come back when I can - if I can. Don't mourn, or pine, or whatever. **Forget regret.  
**Don't try and find me. Trust me, you won't succeed. Again, long story.  
I'm safe. Don't worry like you always do._

_~Peyton, for future reference, Rumpleteazer. Don't ask. I'll come back or write when I can. Don't get your hopes up._

I'd made sort of a pros (that it actually could be from Peyton) and cons (that it wasn't) list in my head. The pros being; she was the only one who'd called me KK, the writing style... it sounded so much like something Peyton would say aloud, the fact that the email had no return/from thing - that might be why she cautioned me not to try and write back or anything, and the phrase "Forget regret". Remember the song? Exactly. The cons being; there are people out there looking to get back at us for our pranks and several of them are pretty steamed - and if this was fake it'd surely kill Tara and me inside. And what was with the "Rumpleteazer" thing?

Why was I terrified? That it could be fake. I didn't know if I'd be able to handle it if it was. Mad? The same reason. A hint of happiness? The fact that it _could_ be her. That she actually was alive somewhere. I say again, the world felt no different to me, so surely no one important to me was dead, Peyton wasn't dead, was she?

* * *

**[A/N] Sorry. Short. I know. Consider this a bit of a filler while I re-gather my bearings. Anyway... hope you enjoyed an actual update!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Ahaha... haven't updated this in... four months? Ahaha.**

**Anyway, I watched CATS again tonight, and came up with an awesome idea for an ending. The problem is, I have no clue what I was going to do with this plot anymore... Hm...**

**Sorry. No poking me with sharp objects. I beg of you.**

**(Also sorry I completely forgot the accents in last chapter. Whoops. xD)**

**

* * *

**

_*Rumpleteazer's P.O.V., a couple weeks after last chapter*_

"Jer? Wha's wrong?"

He was staring at the lake, lost in thought. Not a common thing for Mungojerrie.

"Nothin', Teazah." He said after a while. "Oi can' ge' you involved in i', too."

"Ge' me involved in wha'? We've already been in every possible form o' trouble, Jer." Hey, it was true! I'd given up my hallucination theory. Sadly. Even though a small, small part of me was convinced that that's all this was. That I was tied up in a rubber room somewhere. Very small, teeny-tiny part of me wished and hoped for that.

"Oi jes can', Teaze."

I pretended to clean of my claw. "Fine then, Oi'll jes kee' ya here unduh force, if ya loike."

He looked at me, shocked, "You wouldn'."

"Oh, yes Oi woul'." I was threatening the ultimate weapon around here. The tickle-pounce. It cracks me up, thinking of the things (I reminded myself of my old life over and over, daily, because I was so afraid of forgetting something, or someone, so important) Tara, Kailie, and I used to do to keep one another in the same room. We're the kind of friends who usually get along, or we try and break each other's necks, and end up laughing about it in about five seconds. God, I missed it.

He stared at the lake again, seeming as if a battle were raging inside his head. "Teaze, if ya ge' involved in thi', Oi can' guarantee you'll b' safe evah agai'."

I almost laughed. "Sounds loike m' kind o' deal." When was I ever safe like this? There was always the possibility a garbage truck would dump more junk on me in my sleep and crush me to death, or that I'd send Victoria (who seems to like Jerrie) too far over the edge, and she'd go beserk. Freaky dancer chick. She reminds me of a girl at my old school, who's name I can't even remember, but I do remember her attacking Tara because Tara got the role the girl had wanted in one musical or another. God, who knows?

"Teaze. Oi'm bein' serious. If ya choose to join m'... well, th' mattah woul'd b' out o' m' hands. If ya say yes, yer in i' fer li'."

Oh my God. Was he talking about being mates or something? I seriously wanted to laugh now. And, of course, it reminded me of Bombalurina. She'd made it her business to go around making sure everyone called me 'Teaze' for a week. Because, according to her, I was a tease to Jerry. We kind of got along the same way Kailie and I had - one minute at each other's throats, the next laughing about it and making fun of each other. Truthfully, it comforted me. Having someone so close to me like that. That I could pour my heart out to, and she'd be able to tell me if I was being ridiculous, or she'd know exactly how to comfort me or something. "Jer, jex spi' i' ou'. I' Oi burs' ou' laughin', i's to'ally no' m' faul'."

He looked offended, at first. But this is Jerrie I'm talking about. He smiled then and shook his head. "On'y you, on'y you."

I stared at him for a while. "An'... thi' bi' life-destroyin' thing woul' b'...?"

He actually looked confused for a moment. I swear this tom has more memory problems than me. "Oi... Teazuh, Oi... Oi agree' t' work fer Macavity."

I'll admit it. This shocked me. I was silent for a moment. Then the words tumbled out. "Wha'... th' _hell?"_


	10. Chapter 10

**...Don't kill me?**

* * *

_-Teazer's P.O.V., a few weeks after last chap-_

As it turns out, working for Macavity isn't horrible. Really, it's just thieving, giving part of it to him, and we're pretty much guarenteed lifetime safety. Not a bad deal, really.

Jerrie and I were at what seems to have become our favorite place at the Junkyard, the lake.

"Oy, Jer," I say to him, and he looks back at me from his spot doodling in the mud at the bank, "Oi think Oi 'ave ya finally bea' in yer poetry thing."

"Yeah?" He asks, grinning, obviously amused. I chuck a small rock at him, which he ducks.

"Yeah," I tell him, then recite, "We're always togethuh, we're one o' a kind, three words describe us: partners in crime."

He bursts out laughing, in that cute way of his. _No, Teaze,_ I tell myself, _Focus on getting home. You can't have a mate. ...No matter how good you think Jerrie would be as one._

"Yeah," he says, giving that boyish grin of his, "Oi think tha' beats Tugger's ol' armpit poem."

"Seriously? Tha' was Tugger's? Cheatuh!" I take a swipe at him, claws sheathed. He laughs and grabs my paw. Grins at me for a moment. Pushes me into the lake.

My head goes under, but I'm able to stand up then. It's a shallow lake. I yell a string of curse words at him.

He laughs at me, but then we both shut up when Jenny appears out of the lakeside plants.

Jennyanydots raises an eyebrow at us. Gives us a stern look. Probably because I was cursing at him, or maybe because I'm in the lake.

"Rumpleteazer, get out of that lake. It seems I'll have to talk to you both!" Jerrie and I share a look. He rolls his eyes.

I get onto the lake's bank and shake out my fur, thinking of how muddy it probably is. Then I go to follow Jenny back to the main part of the Junkyard, but not before I see what Jerrie has scrawled into the mud. _'Teaze, be my mate?'_

* * *

_-A couple days later-_

"Jer! Get yer butt movin' fastuh!" I yowled, using the full extent of my legs to run, flying through the streets. Jerrie was a little far behind me. My words were muffled by the sack of jewels and gold in my mouth. But I think he got the point.

We were going to be late for a money/goods deposit with Macavity, where he also tells us where he wants us to steal from next.

Well, I really didn't want to be late. Macavity was unstable. Not right in the head. I can't imagine what happens to cats who piss him off.

I throw myself through the open first story window in his old, broken down hideout. I land right in the meeting room.

Jer vaults into the room a few seconds later, and we're both staring Macavity's rage in the face. Two nights ago, we were pretty much his sole pride, now... well, we're not.

He doesn't say anything for a while. Which was, in a way, even more frightening than if he had been screaming his brains out at us.

His cold amber gaze. Whatever I was, cat, human, mutant, whatever, Macavity was even farther from normal.

He grinned. But it wasn't a real smile. Distorted, wicked. Wicked, but lovely. I'm relatively sure only queens feel that pull.

The last thing I remember was seeing his grin before everything went black.


End file.
